This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus related to ion beam therapy. In one aspect, a system includes a position sensitive detector and a collimator. The position sensitive detector configured to detect gamma rays generated by an ion beam interacting with a target. The collimator is positioned between the target and the position sensitive detector. The collimator includes a plurality of knife-edge slits, with a first knife-edge slit intersecting with a second knife-edge slit.

Apparatus and techniques are described herein for nuclear magnetic resonance (MR) projection imaging. Such projection imaging may be used to control radiation therapy delivery to a subject, such as including receiving reference imaging information, generating a two-dimensional (2D) projection image using imaging information obtained via nuclear magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, the 2D projection image corresponding to a specified projection direction, the specified projection direction including a path traversing at least a portion of an imaging subject, determining a change between the generated 2D projection image and the reference imaging information, and controlling delivery of the radiation therapy at least in part using the determined change between the obtained 2D projection image and the reference imaging information.

A system for treating a patient during radiation therapy is disclosed. The system includes a shell, a plurality of material inserts disposed in the shell, where each material insert of the plurality of material inserts respectively shapes a distribution of a dose delivered to the patient by a respective beam of a plurality of beams emitted from a nozzle of a radiation treatment system, and a scaffold component disposed in the shell that holds the plurality material inserts in place relative to the patient such that each material insert lies on a path of at least one of the beams.

Systems, devices, and methods are presented for automatic tuning, calibration, and verification of radiation therapy systems comprising control elements configured to control parameters of the radiation therapy systems based on images obtained using electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) included in the radiation therapy system.

Methods, apparatuses and systems are disclosed for dose-based optimization related to multi-leaf collimator (“MLC”) tracking during radiation therapy. In an example, a method includes calculating a planned radiation dose using an MLC plan in an unshifted dose volume, acquiring, using a radiation machine, a target position through motion tracking, and shifting the dose volume by the target position. The method also includes integrating a three-dimensional dose into a two-dimensional beam’s eye view grid and fitting, using the radiation machine for each leaf track, an MLC aperture by minimizing a cost function. The method further includes calculating and accumulating a delivered dose based on the fitted leaf positions of the MLC and updating a gantry position and MLC leaves to update a next planned dose.

A method may include obtaining input data relating to a target treatment plan for performing radiotherapy on a lesion using a radiation device. The input data may include a first target image of the lesion. The method may also include obtaining a segment shape estimation model. The method may also include estimating, based on the segment shape estimation model and the input data, a plurality of target location combinations of the target treatment plan and a plurality of target segment shapes of a collimator of the radiation device. One of the plurality of target location combinations may indicate a location of the collimator relative to the lesion. Each of the plurality of target segment shapes may correspond to one of the plurality of target location combinations.

The present disclosure provides systems and methods for dynamic multileaf collimator (MLC) tracking. A method may include identifying a plurality of working leaves of the MLC at a control point; determining, for the control point, a signal acquisition region of an electronic portal imaging device (EPID) based on a plurality of planned position trajectories of the plurality of working leaves, wherein the signal acquisition region is part of an imaging plane of the EPID and includes a plurality of acquisition rows; and obtaining an image from the EPID at the control point, wherein the image includes information acquired in the signal acquisition region.

Information associated with a radiation treatment plan includes, for example, values of dose per voxel in a target volume, values of dose rate per voxel in the target volume, and values of parameters used when generating the values of dose per voxel and the values of dose rate per voxel. Renderings that include, for example, a rendering of an image of or including the target volume, and a rendering of selected values of the radiation treatment plan, are displayed. When a selection of a region of one of the renderings is received, a displayed characteristic of another one of the renderings is changed based on the selection.

Patient information for a particular patient, radiation treatment information, and information regarding a particular radiation treatment platform that includes at least one multi-leaf collimator are each accessed. These teachings then provide for optimizing a radiation treatment plan to dose at least one treatment volume in the particular patient using the particular radiation treatment platform as a function of the patient information, the radiation treatment information, and the information regarding the particular radiation treatment platform, wherein the optimizing does not include optimizing movement of any leaves of the multi-leaf collimator.

A photon source emits a flattening filter-free photon beam. A control circuit operably couples to a multi-layer multi-leaf collimator that is disposed between the photon source and a treatment area of a patient. The control circuit automatically arranges operation of some, but not all, of the layers of the multi-layer multi-leaf collimator to serve as a virtual flattening filter with respect to the flattening filter-free photon beam emitted by the photon source. By one approach, another of the layers of the multi-layer multi-leaf collimator serves to form a treatment aperture corresponding to a shape of the treatment area of the patient. By one approach the control circuit comprises an integral part of a treatment platform (as versus a dedicated treatment planning platform) and can carry out most or even essentially all of the planning steps that lead to administration of the treatment to a patient.